Let's Discover La Sierra de Mijas, Andalucia, Southern Spain

By Jack Cox

The La Sierra de Mijas is a beautiful mountain range in Andalucia, Southern Spain.  The Sierra de Mijas is part of the Cordillera Bética which is a mountain system stretching from Morocco, through Gibraltar and along the southern and eastern parts of Spain. It is sometimes called the Baetic ranges or Baetic mountains. In Spain the Cordillera Bética is made up of multiple ranges of mountains that reach from western Andalusia all the way to Murcia and Valencia.  The Cordillera Bética is divided into two parts, the Sistema Subbética (620 kilometres) which runs to the north of Andalucia and the Sistema Penibética (520 kilometres), which occupies the south of the region.  The principal mountains of the the Sistema Subbética are Cazorla, Grazalema and Segura the the Sistema Penibética has the Serranía de Ronda, Sierra Nevada and of course the Sierra de Mijas

The Sierra de Mijas begins in the west at the Puerto el Pescadores (Venta Los Morenos roundabout, GPS: 36.616 north, -4.708 west) and runs east as far as the sea.  To the north it is bounded by the Valle de Guadalhorce. It covers more than 10,700 hectares of land, 30% of which rises to over 600 meters. The two highest points of the Sierra de Mijas are the Pico de Mendoza (1103 meters) and the Pico Mijas (1150 meters) from where there are breathtaking views over the Costa del Sol.  Also in this mountain chain are the Pico de Malaga (1048 m), Cerro de Barrietos (1146 m), Pico Castillejo (955 m), Cerro del Moro (973 m), Pico Calamorro (772 m) and Pico Abalcuza (606 m). 


 

This range of mountains is characterised by furrowed cañadas or dry limestone gorges but there is underground water in the form of aquifers which break the surface as springs.  You are also likely to come across many small caves caused by the action of rain water on the calcium rock. 

Other Mountains in Andalucia

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